Monthly Archives: October 2015

The board has voted and decided to go with Jason’s Services for snow removal for the 2015/2016 season. We are working with Nick who can be reached at 248-812-9384. They have a fleet for four trucks and will be using two of them on our sub when they come through which we believe will allow them to have everything plowed in a timely and efficient manner. They also seemed to have the most competitive price for a business of their size and caliber.

As for driveways each homeowner is responsible for their own snow removal. We ask Jason’s Services for individual driveway prices and they provided the following information:

Discounted rate is $175 for Straights (Capped at 15 Pushes)

$220 For A Straight + Circle (Capped at 15 Pushes)

Shoveling Starts at $65/ Per Season For Both Walks

The capped price covers both of us. After 15 pushes you can buy another 15 pushes for $175 OR pay per push (Usually like $20) On an Average season we plow about 12 time (+-)

Never have we gone over (Not even last year), But It covers us for the one year when we have to plow “35 times.” Other companies just stop showing up.. We’ll be there!

All tree branches that hang over the road must be trimmed up to a reasonable height so that the snow plow trucks can plow as close to the edge of the road as possible. They will not plow under a tree that will scratch the trucks. We recommend at least trimming your trees 8 feet up or higher.

Grant’s Tree Company has done a lot of work for our subdivision in the past – taking care of trees that have fallen in our common areas or trees that reside in our common areas that pose a threat to our Woodlands of West Bloomfield homeowners’ property . They have always been very fair with their pricing and do good work. Most recently, we had a tree down on along Mountain Ash in a common area. As a service to our subdivision, Don Grant offered to take of that tree at no charge to our association budget since he was doing work in the area already.

Don is a humble, modest guy and probably will be blushing when he reads this post (I told him I was going to let everyone know, and he said that he does not need any recognition), but I wanted let everyone know about the great work Don and his company has been doing for our community. He has also taken care of the holiday lights at the front entrance way in years past at a reasonable, competitive rate.

I see some of our fellow homeowners have trees that are in serious need of some trimming, and others that have had trees down for quite some time. It is up to every homeowner to take care of such things on their own property and do their part to ensure that the community looks beautiful and well-maintained. There have been a number of complaints regarding one home in particular which has had a rather large downed tree on the side of their house (clearly visible from the road) for well over a month. We will be addressing this again soon. I encourage all homeowners to take down the following information or save this email for future reference. Don did not put me up to this, but I wanted to provide the website for his business below:

http://www.grantstreeco.com/

The direct phone number for Grant’s Tree Company is 248 681.0498

If you have downed trees in your yard, I strongly encourage you to take action soon, as the Township of West Bloomfield has strict ordinances against such things. Failure to address these types of issues can and will lead up to being contacted by the Township and possibly being fined. Homeowners are also responsible for the trees along the roads in front of their homes. Many have not been trimmed in quite some time (some I doubt at all), and the branches are extending out into the road low enough to impact vehicles, cyclists etc. This poses a hazard for obvious reasons and can also damage vehicles traveling through our subdivision. In the coming weeks, we are going to communicate a list of home addresses that we perceive to be in violation by either having trees downed on their property or trees along the road that need to be cut back (see Charter Township of West Bloomfield Ordinance No. C-705-B, in particular, Sec. 23-22, 23-27). Fines will be issued and liens could potentially be placed on homes that are in violation if fines are not paid.

While some of the branches will obviously be sticking out from the trees and over the road, such branches should be a reasonable distance from the ground/road surface. Reasonable discretion will always be used when accessing which branches pose a threat and/or are in violation. Thank you to those homeowners who have been keeping up with the maintenance of their properties. Thank you in advance to those who will be addressing the concerns outlined above in the coming weeks. I wish everyone a safe and happy fall season.